Crop insurance claims continue to rise

Claim payments to American farmers hit by the 2012 drought topped $3.5 billion this week, according to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. That includes more than $245 million in compensation to Nebraska producers. Both numbers are very preliminary. "This drought heavily affected spring-planted crops," said Keith Collins, spokesman for National Crop Insurance Services. By the time the dust clears, payments to holders of federally subsidized crop insurance policies are likely to go well beyond last year’s record of about $10.8 billion nationally, Collins said.